Jane Robins

The story is told through Callie's point of view...which was really a plus for the book...especially since so many domestic thrillers are told through the perspective of the battered spouse or abusive partner. Callie is worried about her twin enough to go out of her way to try to find a way to help her...even if she didn't want it. The problem was with the characters who were all so unlikable that I had trouble choosing who to hope came out ahead. I know some would say that's easy...Tilda show more who was the abused spouse...but Tllda seemed to delight in tormenting Felix thus making herself a victim. It was an easy read that flowed very smoothly but hit another bump with an odd, unexpected ending that didn't fit well with the previous events of the story. show less

Jane Robins' debut, White Bodies, is a mesmerizing mystery with a very suspenseful storyline.

Twin sisters Tilda and Callie Farrow are as different as night and day both in looks and temperament. Tilda is quite beautiful, outgoing and popular whereas Callie is quiet, shy and socially awkward. Tilda's light shines brightly and her acting career is currently on the upswing. Callie enjoys her job working in a bookstore where she is comfortable discussing books with regular customers. Despite show more their differences, Tilda and Callie talk daily and get together once a month for movie night.

Although Callie enjoys hanging out with her sister, she is a little taken aback when Tilda begins frequently inviting her to spend time with her and her new boyfriend Felix Nordberg. Callie is initially impressed with Felix's ability to rein in her somewhat flighty sister but after witnessing a couple of troubling incidents, she becomes convinced that Tilda is the victim of domestic violence. When Tilda brushes off her concerns, Callie joins an on-line support for advice and after she befriends two women on the forum, she has to decide just how far will she go to protect her sister.

Callie is devoted to her sister so it is not any surprise that she is a little worried about some of her disturbing observations. With a long history of trying to protect Tilda from her own frailties and any type of harm from the people around her, she immediately begins compiling extensive notes in which she documents practically everything about her sister and Felix. Callie soon comes across as obsessed as she goes to extreme lengths to gather information about Felix and his relationship with Tilda.

As Tilda begins pulling away from her sister, Callie begins to heavily rely on two friends she has made on the domestic abuse forum. After tragedy strikes, one of the women she has befriended proposes a rather extreme plan but will Callie agree to this outrageous scheme? When Felix unexpectedly dies, Callie is under unbearable pressure to act on her online friend's behalf, but can she take such a drastic measure?

Fast-paced and engrossing, White Bodies is an intriguing mystery that is impossible to put down. With a meticulously crafted storyline, an increasingly unreliable narrator and clever plot twists, Jane Robins brings the novel to a completely unexpected but satisfying conclusion. A brilliant debut that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre. show less

White Bodies by Jane Robins is a 2017 Touchstone publication.

Unconventional, incongruous, and macabre-

Callie and Tilda are twins, but are polar opposites, in appearance and personality. Tilda, an actress, is on the cusp of stardom, while Callie stands in the shadows, living a quiet life as a bookstore clerk.

But, when Tilda becomes involved with Felix, Callie begins to worry that Tilda is withdrawing, losing weight, maybe abusing herself or being abused by Felix, putting her career in show more jeopardy, all due to Felix’s controlling obsessive compulsiveness.

Callie joins an online support group for women who are trying to extricate themselves from abusive and controlling relationships. She even participates in chat room conversations hoping to find a way to understand the hold Felix has over her sister and to seek help in finding a way to rescue Tilda.

In the meantime, Callie keeps tabs on Tilda, looking for signs of abuse or clues to her sister’s mental state, when all the while she fails to see the irony in her own increasing obsession with Tilda.

The further entangled she becomes with the online support group, the deeper her obsession grows until she finds herself embroiled in their plans to free those trapped in controlling relationships by any means necessary.

This book is messed up. Really, really messed up. Callie relates the series of events from her own first person narrative, so we see things from her perspective and only through her eyes.

The insight comes from the background information provided about the twins’ upbringing and the type of bond they formed early in life. Callie’s unusual methods of feeling close to Tilda are one of the most troubling aspects of the book, and one you won't forget anytime soon.

I thought the story was highly imaginative, with a nice nod to ‘Strangers on a Train’, a setup that is as effective today as it was back then. The creation of such a fraught and unsettling atmosphere is very well done and even has a slight noir quality to it that I really liked, but also had an edgy type of dark humor, that may have simply been in my imagination, but I honestly found myself delighted by some of the twists, even if they were mostly untenable.

Tensions rose on several fronts, and all them are beyond twisted. Obsession is definitely the word of the day in this book and it can come in many different forms, especially when it comes to family bonds, which can be the most complex of all relationships, perhaps more so with sisters, who can often have thorny connections, but Cassie and Tilda take that to an entirely new level.

The novel kept me entranced and fascinated, but also kept me off balance, and on my toes. No reading on auto-pilot.

But as the book wound around to its final moments, the pacing began to slow down, causing me to let down my defenses a little, but, beware of that lull. There is still one final revelation. Now, normally, I love one last turn of the screw, but this one nearly derailed the entire book. Seasoned readers of psychological thrillers will have to stifle a groan, because everything good that went before fell into a predictable trap, resulting in an epic fail.

Despite that one big faux pas, and overdoing it in a few spots, this is an admirable fiction debut from an author accustomed to writing historical non-fiction. There were many elements I liked about the story, which mostly made up for the missteps. So, although it is a little rough around the edges, it is still worth checking out, especially if you enjoy psychological thrillers. show less

Felix and Tilda seem like the perfect couple: young and in love, a financier and a beautiful up-and-coming starlet. But behind their flawless façade, not everything is as it seems. Callie, Tilda’s unassuming twin, has watched her sister visibly shrink under Felix’s domineering love. She has looked on silently as Tilda stopped working, nearly stopped eating, and turned into a neat freak, with mugs wrapped in Saran Wrap and suspicious syringes hidden in the bathroom trash. She knows about show more Felix’s uncontrollable rages, and has seen the bruises on the white skin of her sister’s arms. Worried about the psychological hold that Felix seems to have over Tilda, Callie joins an Internet support group for victims of abuse and their friends. However, things spiral out of control and she starts to doubt her own judgment when one of her new acquaintances is killed by an abusive man. And then suddenly Felix dies—or was he murdered?

It was a slower starter than I had thought it would be and the skipping backward and forward in ten year intervals was a bit off setting. However the psychologically, sophisticated tale more than compensated for it. The sisters’ relationship is undeniably the most intriguing part of the story. Had this been a character study of the obsessive, bordering on fanatical, relationship between twin sisters it would be a five star novel. In spite of the fact that I read a book for the mystery, suspense and the crime.... I have to say that in this case it's unfortunately the crime that bogs down the story. Anyone that is bothered by reading about domestic violence may want to skip this one entirely. show less